April 4, 2024 — The total solar eclipse will induce awe across the U.S. on April 8, for the first time since 2017 and for the last time until 2044.

The path of totality spans from parts of Texas up through Maine. Depending on the viewer’s geographic location, the moon will cover all or some of the sun’s surface for about four minutes.

Throughout the past few months, the eyecare industry has been raising awareness of the dangers of viewing the eclipse with unprotected eyes, as it can lead to permanent eye damage and vision loss. In a safety sheet published in JAMA Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins Medicine experts further stress the important measures that need to be taken to safely view the eclipse, both in areas of total and partial eclipse coverage.

Eclipse glasses certified through the International Organization for Standardization are necessary for safe viewing of this once-in-a-lifetime event. These do not include regular sunglasses. The eclipse can also be indirectly viewed through a pinhole projector or box eclipse viewers, both of which can be made with household objects.

While people in areas of eclipse totality may have a few seconds to observe the eclipse without safety viewing measures when the moon completely blocks the sun, experts warn that individuals must know the exact timing, as it only takes a few seconds of unprotected viewing before or after totality to result in eye damage.